Google is temporarily halting advertisements worldwide for addiction and rehabilitation centers, following a report last week showing it was acting as a platform for shady referral services earning huge undisclosed commissions.

Essentially these ads, which commanded huge prices on Google’s networks, would show for people seeking addiction treatment; the help lines and services listed would then refer the person to an addiction center. These centers were, unknown to their new patients, paying enormous finders fees to the referral services, on the order of tens of thousands of dollars.

Company - Decision - Practice - Statement - TechCrunch

The company announced the decision to ban this practice globally in a statement issued to TechCrunch:

Substance abuse is a growing crisis and even as we’ve helped healthcare providers connect with people who need help, unfortunately there’s also been a rise in deceptive practices from bad actors taking advantage of those in need. This is a complex issue with varying degrees of regulation in different countries, which is why we’ve decided to suspend ads in the entire addiction treatment center category globally while we consult with experts to find a better way to connect people with the treatment they need.

Ads - Type - Lines - Services - People

Ads of this type, for referral lines and services that point people dealing with addiction to clinics and other resources, were stopped in the US in September, after a Verge report highlighting the practice. The company stopped showing ads in the UK following the Sunday Times’ investigation. When the practices would have been detected and stopped without a vigilant press is anyone’s guess.

Apparently following last week’s report, Google felt the risk of this type of thing happening elsewhere was enough to warrant suspending the whole...